Improvement in feed-water regulators



No. 222,452. Patented Dec. 9, 1879.

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' UNI STATES PATENT QFFICE.

THEODORE E. BUTTON, OF WATERFORD, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN FEED-WATER REGULATORS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 222,452, dated December9, 1879; application filed August 25, 1879.

To all whom it may concern,-

Be it known that I, THEODORE E. BUTTON, of Waterford, in the county ofSaratoga and State of New York, have invented a new and ImprovedFeed-l/Vater Regulator, of which the following is a specification.

Figure 1 is a front elevation of the device, partly in section, attachedto a boiler. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same.

Similar letters of, reference indicate corresponding parts.

The object of this invention is to provide a novel and efficient devicefor controlling the supply of water to a boiler.

The invention consists of a chamber of any suitable size or shapelocatedanywhere above the water-line of the boiler, and connected with it by apipe entering at the water-line.

This pipe must be large enough to allow steam and water to pass eachother in it. The chamber may, however, be connected with the boiler bytwo pipes, one leading from the top of the chamber to the surface of thewater in the boiler, and the other from the bottom of the chamber to anypoint in the boiler below the surface of the water.

The chamber contains a float having a limited motion vertically, andconnected with any device the motion of whiclrwill control the berconsequently fills with water from theboiler.

'lhisraises the float and stops the supplying of water. When the waterin the boiler 1 is evaporated so as to partially uncover the opening ofthe pipe,steam again enters the chamber and the water in it flows backinto (the boiler, when the float falls, opening the valve and admittingthe feed-water.

In the drawings, A represents the float, in-

closed in a reservoir, B, above the chamber 0,

which is connected by the pipe 0 with the boiler D at the water-line.

The float has a vertical movement in the reservoir, and is connected bythe rods E and F and levers G and H to the valve I in the feed-waterpipe L; or the float may be. connected by these rods and levers, ortheir equivalents, either to a steam-valve to regulate the supply ofsteam to afeed-pump, or to a watervalve to regulate the supply of waterto a feed-pump, or to regulate the discharge of surplus water from aconstantly-running source, or to move a belt, or in. any way to regulatethe supply of feed-water to a boiler.

This device is very sensitive to the changes in the water-level in theboiler, a difference of have been arranged to rise and fall within theboiler with the water, while the float arranged as in this one may moveany number of inches with a very slight change. in the level of thewater.

A reservoir above the water-level is also used, and the weight of waterin it when full operates a valve or other device by the mo tion of thereservoir itself to supply the feed water; but this arrangement,-beingheavier, more complicated, occupying a large space, and requiring to bekeptlevel, is not adapted to portable boilers, such as steamfire-engines, &c.

The device herein described, however, is es pecially adapted to steamfire-engines or other portable boilers, because of its sensitiveness toslight changes in the water-level, the quickness of its action, itscompactness, its light weight, and the fact that it will work at anyvariation from a level at which aboiler can be used.

Floats have been applied in other ways to regulate the supply of watertoa boiler; but I know.of no other feed-water regulator where a float isused in achamber set above the water-line of a boiler, which chamberfills and empties with a slight variation of the waterlevel.

Having thus described my invention, what level of boiler, whereby thesteam is admitted I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters to actupon the float at the time and in the Patent, is manner specified.

A steam-boiler connected by pipe 0 at its 1 water-level with an outsidechamber, 0, in THEODORE EDWIN BUTTON combination with a float foroperating the Vitnesses: valve of feed-water pipe, arranged in a tube,LYSANDER BUTTON, B, above said chamber and above the water- CHARLES R.BUTTON.

